Thursday, 31 January 2008

There is another Conspiracy picture that awaits posting... it's one that completely cracked up the ConCom, brilliantly funny on so many levels... and yet, they wouldn't let it be in the conbook... So, here it is, in all it's glory! (And the fact that this was an idea I came up with didn't at all make me bitter...

As you might suspect, I've now seen Cloverfield, which is one man's attempt to force a generation of action sci-fi movie goers to endue a movie about relationships.

Come on, people! Don't be fooled by the supposed "monster" aspect of this film! It's about a whiner guy who decides that everyone must die in his attempt to save the one woman in all of destroyed New York that amazingly didn't die like everyone else did! (And what did happen to her boyfriend?)

There's nothing here that isn't just another angst-fueled relationship that's happened in a billion other movies. So this one has some CGI in it, big deal! It's still about the loser who feels that his failed affair won't be over if he just gives it that one more college try! (Okay, so she understandably feels happy about this and admits feelings for him, but she's placed in a stressful situation and isn't thinking properly. Again, I point to the fact that she had a new boyfriend that the movie conveniently forgets about so the "hero" can get the girl.)

Okay, presuming for a moment this is supposed to be a monster/action movie, what of it? Sure, there are some great scenes of integrating the monster into the shots, but there is one basic problem with the videoed nature of everything, relating to "what's the point of it?". If it is now a government tape, presumably they got the tape for its coverage of the monster... but there should be seven/eight hours of tape (good batteries!), so this has clearly been edited down... but if they care about the coverage, why do we have to suffer the rest of the story. Is it really important to the government that some weirdo with prioritising problems was having a party?

One of the many comments from the irritating talkative movie audience that sat near me was that there would be many movies made in this vein. Oh ye gods...

Tuesday, 29 January 2008

The time has come to, once again, talk of TSV. In this case, TSV #54. There may not seem to be as much as in other issues, but the page count is just as high. This is the second-half of a two-parter issue, really, and the huge articles went into this one.

And they don't get huger than By Any Other Name, by Andrew Pixley. This is one of these most extensive ever looks into the nature of the original story names, which, if we are honest, don't have canonical titles, just canon-accepted ones. There's also an update, all of which proves that nothing has improved, and nothing has changed with the recent debate of the two and three parters in the new series!

Also taking up high page count is the interview with David J. Howe and a comic strip by Boswell and Boswell, Whispers.

However, not everything now online is new to the cybertubes as certain Mel content was already there, as was an early DCG entry. The archive project was already happening, in a way, but now it's off and running!

Monday, 28 January 2008

So, yep, I've now seen I Am Legend. Um... some good stuff, some bad stuff... overall, I'd have to say that the bad stuff was just annoying and made an overall 'blah' impression. I'll hide the rest of the review just to be safe.

Good side: The exciting scenes of Will Smith wandering around weren't as boring as the concept sounded. The film moved confidently in these scenes so I was willing to go along.I like the sense of community the Dark Seekers had (more-so than Robert Neville would ever admit), and Dash Mihok did good work at investing immediately recognisable traits into the lead male. (Although I'm not sure why Neville didn't click that he came after his mate, 'cos that was just bleeding obvious.

Bad side: Man, some of those scenes were just slow. From what I recall, The Omega Man wasn't exactly a fast-paced action picture either, but this shouldn't be taken as a good thing. Fine, call me a product of the hyperactive modern populace, but I wanted to reach for the fast-forward button often.

Frankly, the Dark Seekers were the most interesting part of this movie, and they were treated as not much more than animals. I think them taking over as the next race on the planet would have been a far more interesting ending (and in keeping with the original movie) than the neat "solution" packaged ending.

Oh, and the worst consequence of this movie will be that when we do find a cure for cancer, everyone will say "hey, we know what that will do, we prefer to die, thank you..." ;)

Sunday, 27 January 2008

There's an obvious joke I can make here, with an episode named that, but in this case I think it was the writer who was asleep, not the audience.

This is definitely not an original story. Once I realised which bits of last weeks "Coming Up" promos were for this episode, most of the story was mapped out. Alien sleeper agent gets discovered by Torchwood, and they stop her... with a wee bit of necessary action in the middle as more agents are activated.

(Supposedly all agents were activated. Given how quickly these agents went to work, surely the rest of the world should be under the alien's control by now?)

The main focus of the episode is on the original sleeper agent, though, and how the human cover doesn't know she's an agent, and what she does when she finds out. It really becomes predictable, even the ending, and the truth of the episode only comes out when the audience can link to and care about the main protagonist.

Which, not surprisingly, I didn't. If they had done something truly original in this episode, it might have scored some points, but this was a direct retelling of obviousness.

Character-wise, the team are largely superficially treated, as the focus is on Beth (nearly didn't remember her name, and I only finished watching about twenty minutes ago!). The only problem is, as I keep saying, she travels a well-worn path, so I'm guessing this story meant a whole lot more to James Moran than the rest of us.

Saturday, 26 January 2008

I do online roleplaying, and I do it via Skype. One thing I notice when I'm Skyping is the number of other people online. It varies over a range, but is around six million or so. Which is, roughly, one in a thousand people are on Skype.

For some reason, I find it rather amusing to think that, for example, if you go through desert areas of Africa, if you count up a thousand people, one of them will be a Skyper. (Yeah, I know, averaging statistics, blah...)

I tried to find other "one in a thousand" statistics, but the first thing I found was the One-in-a-Thousand Society. This is MENSA's MENSA, where, for the OATHS, you need to be in the top 99.9th percentile of intelligence.

Now, IQ tests are right rubbish in the first place (they measure something, but most likely "ability to take these tests", and, if being generous, the ability to speak the main language of the country), but I'm sure these people feel very elitest in their superiority. (Let's face it, we would if we were in there.)

I tried for MENSA a few years ago, but I was too big with the STEWP!D to get in (only in the top 93% or something). So I'll never be one in that thousand. But at least I know there are 999 other people around here who aren't a Skyper like me.

Friday, 25 January 2008

So, I'm wanting a word... it's used to describe someone who is... "of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred"... and someone who is "Implying or symbolizing erotic desires or activity" with their being...

Could there be such a melange of a word to describe both of these ideas?

Thursday, 24 January 2008

Not the first time I've complained about this, but... frakkin' hell(*)!

Do we really care that Christina Ricci gambles? Or that Christina Arguilera got her son circumcised? We clearly need to know that Colin Farrell hit on an Olson twin. And Britney anywhere is what the people are demanding...

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Another movie ticked off: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem. There's a basic reason we go to watch Alien movies, and this one had a lot of death and destruction of human beings, so... fun! (Which is completely subverting the intent of the first movie of just one alien being a problem...)

But rather than talk about the movie, there are two points that struck me as I watched. Who was it that saw Alien and Predator and then decided... hey, we should cross those series! In some ways, this works as they are both alien species, intent on battle, and completely overwhelm the surrounding humans. On the other hand, why should the Predators care about the Aliens? They're bugs to be exterminated, to be honest, so what's the big appeal? [A challenging fight, of course!]

The other point: why do the Aliens kill everyone? It's not like the humans are used as a food source, and aren't a serious threat to the Aliens, so really the Aliens are just killing people out of spite. At least in Aliens they are used as hosts for more aliens, but outside of that, it's "Death to the humans" all the way. Wouldn't think that entirely useful perspective from an evolutionary point of view. Too much wasted energy.

All of which really demonstrates just how engaging the movie was on a deep and personal level that I spent time with these thoughts...

Monday, 21 January 2008

Game Four: Memento Mori. This was one heck of a confusing game. I needed a score card to keep up with what was going on (which I didn't have, and thus...). Not much on the role-playing side, it has to be said, it was more "here are missions for your group to do". But we had fun with that, so it was all good.

Game Five: It's Glargle Past Threep. We are the Time Police! Fear us! But what until we've filled up form P-17... and B/3/Gamma... and... yeah, we're the time police, fear us... Lots of fun, and great in-character moments. We did save the day, if not our careers...

Game Six: Games on Demand. In all rounds, the GoD stream was such that people turned up, decided what they wanted to play collectively, and then, boom, a game of that happened. I was concerned that I might end up in something too story-telly (which might have burnt out any creativity I had at the time), but we ended up playing The Farm. You wake up as a Resident at the Farm. In six weeks, you will be eaten... Now, we didn't quite get the atmosphere going due, because it's supposed to be creepy psychological horror... but we had fun! I did get a decent enough death, finally.

Sunday, 20 January 2008

Game One: Horror on the High Seas. Not that I've played many, but I'd have to say this was a fairly classic style Cthulhu game. Do some investigating, discover a cult, tackle a horror, it's all good! Unless your character ends up nearly dead and gibberingly insane like mine did... but hey, still fun! (Could have done with being a bit longer though, the three hour slot was a little tight.)

Game Two: Bump In The Night. Doctor Who game! Although, as the term goes, post watershed, nearly Torchwoody. Find an asteroid with something inside, and a deep dark secret... oooh... Mostly new characters, with Norman Cates doing a great turn as the Doctor. I was K9! Affirmative, Master! Failed to die and did several useful plot things.

Game Three: One Crowded Hour. Game from the classic Traveller RPG. We were the crew aboard the luxurious Duchess Serene, just performing a normal run. Nothing to worry about... until the lights start flashing! Definitely an hour so crowded we needed over two hours to get it all in. And I completely failed to die! (Actually, saved about 2/3 of the crew and passengers all up. As for the other 1/3... well, one accepts that some casualties will occur...)

Friday, 18 January 2008

Back in October, a list of the most BLASPHEMOUS things of the past years were compiled. Some interesting notes there... Andrew Lloyd Webber is blasphemous... as is chocolate... and Monty Python!

Submission was a film by Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali and you can watch it via the link I have.

Number one offense: the Mohammad cartoons. Go peaceful religion!

I see that The Passion of the Christ didn't make it. That was pretty offensive... but wait, it helped indoctrinate the kids, so I guess that makes it all right. (There was no way it's shouldn't have been R, and yet...)

Thursday, 17 January 2008

Completing this set: Wetworld by Mark Michalowski. Wow, other worlds do exist!

Huzzah, it's not set on Earth! Boo, I had trouble envisioning this planet. Yeah, pros and cons to the off-world approach, but it was significant that there was a settlement set up by a village that was on the riverbank (which got flooded) and another settlement that was... an hour away? Several hours away? It seemed very far at the beginning, and yet at the end of the book they were popping back and forth like it was just around the bend. (And I'm also dubious about the timeline that saves Martha...)

Still, this is an action packed book that keeps things on the go, and it doesn't feel at all padded (in some ways, it might have been better to slow down, but the page count wouldn't have allowed it). The basic idea is "unknown alien menace threatening the Earth colony", but Mark doesn't let the readers dwell on this as he keeps the pace going. The monster manages to be extremely original in how it interacts with the other races, although I did flash back to Hellraiser II (for reasons I won't reveal because it makes for a good moment).

Character-wise, Martha and the Doctor come across well. Martha is a bit underwritten (and I did wonder, during the beginning, if she was going to be written out so Mark didn't have to bother with her). The colonists are a little bit vague, I'm still not sure how important Col was supposed to be, but two stick out, only because of the attention Mark devotes to them. One is Ty, elderly scientist, who... actually, can't describe her as her appearance was that notable, but she was in the book a lot. And Candice "Don't call me Candy" Kane, the obligatory teen, who wasn't obnoxious but managed to be more capable that most of the adults, as all written kids must be.

A very readable book, and one I recommend, even with the geographical problems.

Wednesday, 16 January 2008

So, saw The Golden Compass last night... I'm sure it is much stronger in the books, 'cos one could easily make a point that the Majestarium is a political metaphor than a religious one(*).

Um...I get the feeling I should go read the books, because I have to say this movie was a mess! It cut from scene to scene all over the place with little thought to an actual sensible continuity of plotline, and it's only because they cut the plot down that I was able to keep up with what's going on.

It really is the Lyra movie, where the kid can do no wrong. Need an ice bear? Yep, she can provide. Talk down several dangerous villains? Not a problem for her. Manage to run away from an entire army? Can do! I know she had script immunity, but even the plot device (aka the compass) is pushed to extreme to get everything happing nicely for her.

But it's a nice, easy to watch, kids movie. Certainly families in the theatre with me. Lots of lovely, absolutely gorgeous visuals, and no blood anywhere (although there was a... jaw-dropping moment that I was surprised was left in). Coherency-aside, you'll spend a lot of time going "oh, that's so-and-so", and isn't that the best kind of movie of all?

(*)Although kids are more readily identified as particular religions, not particular political affiliations, although both come down to "set of beliefs" in many ways...

Tuesday, 15 January 2008

Next up: Suck Building, by Paul Magrs. See that big beastie on the cover? The author describes it as as big as a land mass... and with no teeth... oh well, at least they tried.

I've never been a fan of Paul Magrs, so approached this book dubiously. I could easy do without more talking dogs or two-dimensional people or, heaven forfend, Iris frakkin' Wildthyme! However, it looks like writing for the BBC kids range has curbed these excesses, and what we get is a rather decent read.

In some ways this is a disaster story (although I might be thinking that because of recent influences), where a looming menace is set to destroy everything in a tight timeframe and the characters must run around a lot to escape. Certainly, this story could easily have finished 50 or a 100 pages earlier and tell just the same story. What "Magrs-isms" we are given are the Servo-furnishings (aka robots), and Paul invests a lot in their personalities, focusing on just a few, and bringing them to an enjoyable depth of character. (Paul also manages to get his usual screaming mad dame in in the form of the Domovoi.)

The characters are all well done, but the Doctor seems a more superficial portrayal that his on-screen persona. We do get the obligatory young kid, but he's not as annoying as most. For some reason, I kept seeing Tiermann as being played by Philip Madoc, or possibly Emrys Jones...

Monday, 14 January 2008

Let's see... there was a big staircase... no, wait, that was the first one... there was a fight with a bad guy who had the upper hand all along... hang on, that was the first as well... Actually, there are a lot of repeats from the first movie, but in the second we do have Ed Harris! Great actor, so at least there was something worth watching in this movie. He's the bad guy... sort of... it's kinda confusing...

Which brings up a main point about the plot. Could be considered spoilers, but there isn't a huge amount of actual plot to spoil. Ben's great-(whatever)-ancestor is implicated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, so to prove he was innocent, Ben must find a lost City of Gold... what? The hell? I must have been brained unconscious at some point because what do those two things have to do with each other at any level? I kept waiting for some explanation, but...

Apart from being on a more global (which means they go to two cities outside of the USA), this is basically a rehash of the first, with lots of annoying clues leading to more clues and lots of puzzles that can only be worked out by knowing extremely detailed minutia of all periods of history, which of course everyone does know... then again, that's what was expected going in.

It's a nice light film that's best watched without thinking about in any shape or form...

Sunday, 13 January 2008

As of yesterday, NZ has made a definite mark in the wider Doctor Who tapestry. We have had already mentions of New Zealand in DW, an NZ author writing books, but now we have a New Zealand publishing company producing new books for the worlds of Doctor Who.

There were about a dozen of us gathered for drinks (foul tasting Sweeps) and nibbles, and we were treated to Daniel O'Mahoney reading first his prelude and an extract from the book. However, he was connected via Skype and the audio quality wasn't the best, so we did miss the occasional word. There was even a Q&A session where the Enemy was revealed! ... or rather, Daniel's knowledge of the Enemy was revealed. Unfortunately, his lips remained sealed on that actual information.

Anyways, with already a half-dozen copies of the book sold, Random Static is here and hopefully to stay for a while.

Saturday, 12 January 2008

Finally finished the other Steve Cambden book: The Doctor's Effect (and I would link to some other page about it, but it seems no-one else on the internet talked about it - and can't see it reviewed in TSV...).

This book is a series of interviews with BBC Special Effects staff about their lives and times on a certain TV program. However, I used "finally finished" decidedly as it definitely took a slog to get through it. Although Steve's other book was well written and full of personality, these interviews are very bland readings with little to lighten them up apart from the occasional half-remembered anecdote.

Most of the staffers interviewed (and not everyone on the series was) related to the earlier stories, so we get lots of stories repeated from different views, but it comes across largely as "I did X", and "he did X". Not exactly riveting reading. And, probably because of the time that has passed, the interviews are mostly "I did this, and then we did that", there isn't any sense of the people connecting with what they did (which, as I say, it probably due to the time between then and now and the fact that they did so much other stuff as well).

Still, there are a lot of revealing facts about the shows given here, with a lot of the jury-rigging behind the effects revealed for all to marvel at. Certainly, while reading, there were some stories I wanted to rewatch just so I could know what exactly I was seeing! This is bound to make the scales from some eyes.

If you are obsessive about the history of Who and really want to know all the details, this is definitely a book for you. However, even with the amount of work Steve undoubtedly put into this, it could easily be missed without being that much the poorer for it...

Friday, 11 January 2008

Actually, the question is rather moot, as most serious film companies are using a completely different format with even more storage capability that either BluRay or HD provides. So just wait a bit, and then that'll become the standard.

But, if I had to choose, currently I'd go with HD. Why? Because BluRay insist on annoying me when I go see movies by playing this overly long ad, making me irritated with them, not supportive.

Edit: Huh, I see that the videos of these ads have been removed. Very protective, Sony, but these are ads... you don't want them to be seen???

Thursday, 10 January 2008

Time to get back to reading Doctor Who books, starting with Mark Morris' Forever Autumn. Basically: a horror story hamstrung by being for kids.

When reading this, I flashed back to The Hollow Men, Family of Blood, Nightmare Before Christmas, Peanuts and, of course, towards the end, Halloween. This isn't to say this book is unoriginal, just that it is firmly in a genre that we immediately recognise.

It was inevitable that Doctor Who would do Halloween, and Mark Morris does make a good attempt to make it quite scary, but, as I say, it is a book in the BBC Young Adult series, so has kids in it and is to be read by kids, so it can't be that scary 'cos it's "for the kiddies". Mark might well have done a lot more, but either held back, or was told to revise it.

Plot-wise, we find out that there was another alien species that landed on earth and influenced people to make them set up a place that the aliens could make use of. (It's never explicitly mentioned that the aliens are the basis of Halloween, but we can read between the lines.) There's only really a few scenes in this story, and could quite easily be adapted for the new series, but this does mean the story doesn't get very deep. It's more about the atmosphere, but it never gets built up enough to really be effective.

Character-wise, the Doctor is well done, Martha is a little generic, but at least she isn't Rose. We get the kids, but they are fairly much stereotype of "spunky go getter" etc. For the adults, there are vague parents and the local "witch", who only seems to be there to give Mark an excuse for the Doctor to have an easy entrance to the villains.

Overall, a decent book, worth reading, but definitely in the Young Adult vein.

Order: Reference to Gridlock, so after that. And the Doctor says he has met Martha's mother once so far. So, nice big gap after The Lazarus Experiment works well.

Wednesday, 9 January 2008

Shamus asked about bad gaming stories. I submitted one, but thought I might expand on it here.

This was back in my school days, when I was playing 2nd ed AD&D(*). I had a cleric(*), I think, and a friend of mine, Derek, was... um, something. There were about three other people in the party, various things. From memory, we were in a castle that was being invaded by some group of guards from a powerful church, where 'invaded' meant that they had some forces in the main part of the castle and were saying 'what's up with you?'

We had ourselves an NPC source of information, and he wasn't to be captured by the invading forces. So Derek and I decided we had to get him out by going over a castle wall. (Apparently if we waited a while we could have walked out, but either we didn't understand that, didn't trust that, or didn't care.)

So, rope down, and climb rolls. Two of them were needed. From memory, I failed my first one, so fell from the top. And landed. Hard. And hurtful. And didn't have much hit points and took a lot of damage. Less than minus ten. Dead.

Derek, I think, failed his second roll, and also fell. Landed hard. Died.

Everyone else - fine. Of course. The bastards.

So, Derek and I, with the plan... and we are the only ones who died. Sigh. Oh well, just as well I had a few backup characters ready...

Tuesday, 8 January 2008

DVDs are just weirdly manufactured to do plain annoying things... and here's a list of really annoying things!

1) Long opening run of various company logos and warning and other crap that no-one cares about...

2) Incessant playing of the theme music on the main menu screen. You might be in the kitchen, grabbing a snack, and just keep hearing the same music over and over and OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOU JUST GO INSANE!

3) DVDs that "helpfully" start the movie after a while. Again, in the kitchen getting a snack, and then you get in to find the movie's already been playing for a while and you have to juggle things trying to get back to the beginning...

Monday, 7 January 2008

What if I said that when the Europeans came to New Zealand, they were welcomed with open arms by the Maori? That the Maori insisted that the newcomers should take their land for no cost and never wanted it back again?

And what if I said this was supported by the government?

Now, my opinions of religious views is pretty obvious, but now the United States of America is trying to rewrite its own history. Interpretation of what happened is something, but this is saying "let's ignore those facts and go with our ideas".

USA was not founded as a Christian Nation, despite what Resolutions they are trying to pass. (It is just a resolution, much like their Christmas one, so I don't know what impact it would really have, but it's likely an opening shot...)

Saturday, 5 January 2008

With all the hardships in the world, I'll just like to highlight the disaster affecting a group no-one's thinking of at the moment.

The Writer's Strike continues, although it looks like Letterman has got himself a deal sorted out.

But other series aren't happening, and we're looking at shortened seasons, so this raises the question: what about the poor actors? No-one is telling them what to say! They aren't being employed to stand in front of cameras and get in the way of telling the story! We're missing their pouting faces and crazy antics! So what are they up to?

Oh, it's just a crying shame. On the other hand, if they are still being paid due to contracts and stuff, so basically are being paid for nothing... well... screw 'em.

Friday, 4 January 2008

Over the past few weeks, my connection to the internet has been occasionally down, in that I can't connect to anything.

I'm not sure if this is because of the NZ connection to world or just TelstraClear, although I suspect the latter because I can't even connect to the Paradise website (although given how some websites are routed, it is possible getting to that has to go through some overseas link...).

The best part is that of course this has to happen over the holidays when there are less people around (and/or it gets more expensive to have people around), so this will probably take some time to get sorted out.

Latest downtime, last night. Most annoying downtime, last Sunday morning so I couldn't join in roleplaying.

Thursday, 3 January 2008

This is one of those "what were they thinking?" moments. On several of my DVDs, either when I put it in, or when looking at trailers, I get hit with an "anti-piracy" warning, a 40 second clip, not the one I'm linking to, about anti-piracy and asking me "would you steal blah?".

You know what... after watching this, I think I might! Just think for a moment who is watching this - namely, the people who brought the DVDs! Pirated versions wouldn't have this, so for some reason they feel like badgering those that have brought the DVDs (ie. the NON PIRATES!) by forcing them to watch this junk! (Although now they are allowing you to skip or fast forward through.) Hint: reverse psychology, people, reverse psychology...

Wednesday, 2 January 2008

I've blogged before about writing for the RPG game Heroic Cthulhu, now you can hear me play it! (This is all done via Skype.)

The adventure Logan has dubbed "The Viper Pit" based on a modern day story, but during the adventure I kept getting overwhelming feelings of familiarity with the names, and as for the plot... I reckon the author ripped of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot's Christmas.

But you can judge for yourself by listening to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7. I'm playing Freddy Arbuckle, new boy and smooth talker (hence all the surreal explanations I was spouting).

Whether I play again will depend on various factors like whether I can shift my lazy ass to being around at the time, if Logan can fit me in, and if my computer knows what the "internet" is.